Oh, man. I'm not laughing at your miserable reading experience, really, I'm not, but - you sound exactly like I did when I finished it!! Or like I wanted to sound, since you're way more eloquent here than I was.
I'm sorry you didn't like it. I wanted to, but - gahhhhhh. I even read the second book! Which I really, really wanted to like, and I even tried to make a list of everything I liked about it, and... it's a rather forced list. With some major points that get canceled out in one of the sequels. (Spoiler! I've heard that OF COURSE Tavi has the most kick-ass furies EVER once he finally manifests them. Oh, and he's also-- Um. I probably shouldn't spoil TOO much, but lemme know if you want to know?).
My reactions to the Codex Alera: book 1, book 2 (there are a couple of spoilers there, but it's a pretty brief summary of what I liked/disliked rather than a thorough review/rant).
I'm like you, I'm just so disappointed! Come on Butcher, you can do SO MUCH better! Your storytelling shouldn't lose its mojo just because you switch from a 1st person POV to a 3rd! Really! You could make high fantasy as interesting as you've made urban fantasy, you know how. Agh. I wouldn't have given a rat's tail if Generic Fantasy Writer #9716 churned out this kind of crap, but with Butcher... it really gets to me!! Though it does make me feel better to hear that very obviously it's not just me. If you're seeing them too, the issues I noticed were really there - the boringness, and the issues...! Uuugh. Yes, the slave-collar scene and Odiana's history... *shudder* Ick. And the Marat. Ick, ick, ick. >_<
The Marat have become total Magical Ninja guys by book two. They have even MORE pseudo-Native American spiritualism, as well as l33t ninja skillz. And I think - hope? - that it is because there's a point to be made somewhere about how the Alerans are actually the bad guys in the big picture, conquering other people and taking over a continent that wasn't theirs, but. But it's done in a way that will throw me into fits of rage if I think about it, so I won't. I really won't. I'll stop... now.
*breathes*
Okay. Better now. A little better.
One thing in Butcher's favor is that the second book is pretty much all about the political ramifications of making Isana the first female Steadholder! So... yeah, I don't know if it was planned that way from the beginning, but apparently it's just such a huge subject that he couldn't deal with in the first book.
Um. Yeah. I-I don't think I should've read the second book, but I'd already bought it, and now I get all frustrated and annoyed when I think about them, and there are another two books out there, and I keep hoping that maybe those will be good, but - finishing the first two were such a chore (in each case - I ended up skimming the last third of BOTH of them), I really don't think I'll give them a chance. Ever. Which makes me sad, because - it's Jim Butcher!
...thank you for giving me a chance to vent a little. ^^;;;
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Oh, man. I'm not laughing at your miserable reading experience, really, I'm not, but - you sound exactly like I did when I finished it!! Or like I wanted to sound, since you're way more eloquent here than I was.
I'm sorry you didn't like it. I wanted to, but - gahhhhhh. I even read the second book! Which I really, really wanted to like, and I even tried to make a list of everything I liked about it, and... it's a rather forced list. With some major points that get canceled out in one of the sequels. (Spoiler! I've heard that OF COURSE Tavi has the most kick-ass furies EVER once he finally manifests them. Oh, and he's also-- Um. I probably shouldn't spoil TOO much, but lemme know if you want to know?).
My reactions to the Codex Alera: book 1, book 2 (there are a couple of spoilers there, but it's a pretty brief summary of what I liked/disliked rather than a thorough review/rant).
I'm like you, I'm just so disappointed! Come on Butcher, you can do SO MUCH better! Your storytelling shouldn't lose its mojo just because you switch from a 1st person POV to a 3rd! Really! You could make high fantasy as interesting as you've made urban fantasy, you know how. Agh. I wouldn't have given a rat's tail if Generic Fantasy Writer #9716 churned out this kind of crap, but with Butcher... it really gets to me!! Though it does make me feel better to hear that very obviously it's not just me. If you're seeing them too, the issues I noticed were really there - the boringness, and the issues...! Uuugh. Yes, the slave-collar scene and Odiana's history... *shudder* Ick. And the Marat. Ick, ick, ick. >_<
The Marat have become total Magical Ninja guys by book two. They have even MORE pseudo-Native American spiritualism, as well as l33t ninja skillz. And I think - hope? - that it is because there's a point to be made somewhere about how the Alerans are actually the bad guys in the big picture, conquering other people and taking over a continent that wasn't theirs, but. But it's done in a way that will throw me into fits of rage if I think about it, so I won't. I really won't. I'll stop... now.
*breathes*
Okay. Better now. A little better.
One thing in Butcher's favor is that the second book is pretty much all about the political ramifications of making Isana the first female Steadholder! So... yeah, I don't know if it was planned that way from the beginning, but apparently it's just such a huge subject that he couldn't deal with in the first book.
Um. Yeah. I-I don't think I should've read the second book, but I'd already bought it, and now I get all frustrated and annoyed when I think about them, and there are another two books out there, and I keep hoping that maybe those will be good, but - finishing the first two were such a chore (in each case - I ended up skimming the last third of BOTH of them), I really don't think I'll give them a chance. Ever. Which makes me sad, because - it's Jim Butcher!
...thank you for giving me a chance to vent a little. ^^;;;